Cool Blue and Aged Well

1957 Chevy Truck
Article and photos by Larry Crain

I had to come up with a title that was catchy and quick to grab your attention, plus pertain to the vehicle that this article is about and the title fits this truck very well. The truck was built by Kirk Peterson about 15 years ago, and then about 8 years ago it was given a good going over to make it all fresh again. That’s right! This awesome looking, show-winning machine was last freshened up that long ago and still kicks butt!

The truck that Kirk built, which has stood the test of time, is a heavily modified 1957 Chevrolet 3100 Series stepside. The frame is a modified stock piece that has been reinforced with square tubing and then powder coated. The front suspension is a Heidts IFS with rack and pinion steering. The rear section of the stock frame was altered so it could become the home of a Cadillac Allante disc brake rear end that is equipped with 3:73 gears. The powder coated rear suspension is a four link equipped with Eaton three inch drop springs. Raising or lowering the truck for show or cruising is taken care of by a Shockwave system from Ridetech. The brake system on the truck is all Corvette from the power brake booster assembly to the disc brakes on all four corners. The wheels for this custom chassis are Foose Fishtail with 18’s on the front and 20’s on the rear.

Kirk’s cool blue truck runs a Corvette LT1 that pumps out around 425 horsepower and looks good doing it with all of the aluminum polished to a show finish. Cooling for this truck comes in the form of a Walker radiator equipped with a hurricane style fan. Transmission of choice for the Corvette motor is a GM 4L60E that is connected to the rear end with a polished aluminum drive shaft.

The exterior of this truck has a lot of modifications, so I hope I cover most of them. The top has been chopped four inches, the suicide doors are chopped six inches at the bottom, the doors have also been shaved and the cab floor has been expanded six inches. The hood has been shaved and features a Flaming River reverse hood opening system. The headlights have been frenched and the areas above them known as eyebrows have been pulled and peaked. The front end is beautiful with a rolled front pan, a custom floating grille and front fenders that are seamless. The Chevy 3100 series all steel truck bed is a new custom piece from MAR-K that finishes out the body. All of this custom metal work is covered in a candied, four-stage paint; BASF Glasurit 90-Line Waterborne Lamborghini Monterrey Blue with silver and blue mid & base coats, the base was then covered with 5 coats of Glasurit 460 clear.

The interior of the truck is just as trick as the outside starting with the shaved dash featuring Dakota Digital instrument cluster, an Ididit tilt column, Vintage Air a/c system, power windows, power seats and a custom console equipped with the control panel for the Ridetech Shockwave system. Finishing up this interior is beautiful gray leather on the seats, door panels and plush gray carpet on the floor.

As the title of the article stated, this is one cool blue truck that has aged very well. For another look at this truck be sure and check out the video ScottieD shot.